


Light Reading

by Ohsoverysensible



Series: Dorian's Sweet Boy [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Fluff, Humour, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-09 22:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3266888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohsoverysensible/pseuds/Ohsoverysensible
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the Inquisition founded and Skyhold being repaired, there wasn't much to immediately jump at. That left a bit of room for down time, and for Dorian that meant reading. Both books and people. Unfortunately, that meant he could be read too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light Reading

Skyhold was coming along. At least to some degree. Everyone seemed surprisingly eager to get right to work, planning upgrades here and solving problems there. Alexander Trevelyan felt that it was all because of what happened at Haven, and it somehow made him feel more confident about this whole mess. If something so terrifying, so saddening, could make everyone more willing to help, it gave Alex faith.

Of course he had more than enough of that. With everyone calling him the Herald, and his vague memory of a woman leading him out of the Fade, Alex felt like he was meant to do this. As if it were divine purpose. As the second son, he never imagined he'd amount to anything more than an extra head. Now? Now. He was the head of the Inquisition, the Herald of Andraste, tasked to deliver Thedas from the clutches of evil. It had a nice ring to it, but it was also daunting. Alex wasn't prideful, at least not egotistically so, but the attention and the prestige was rather a nice perk.

He felt important for one of the first times in his life, as if he really mattered to people. No one had ever put the whole world on his shoulders, and while it was a lot of responsibility, he was almost excited at the prospect. The weight of it all was almost comforting, reassuring, as if it told him that he was real and that he existed. That he _needed_ to. All Alex ever wanted to do was help. It was in his nature, the burning desire to make a difference. And no, not as a Templar or a Chantry lackey, as perhaps his family had planned. But as someone truly useful, who stood outside of any pre-existing group. And here he was.

But he wasn't alone, and even if he was irrationally excited by his power, he was glad it wasn't all on him. The idea of having friends, having advisors to go to, it just made the entire situation a little easier to manage. As everyone went about their business and followed orders, establishing rules here and there and setting up camp as it were, Alexander meandered around the old fortress.

The kitchens were small but warm, and soon they would be well-stocked. There were already people volunteering for managing staff, like cooks and servants and pages. It was refreshing to see people choosing their stations instead of being assigned them. The main hall was already full of scaffolding and workers, trying to repair the old stone of the ancient fort, and people were already commandeering their places. Rooms were taken by most of the advisors by now, and many of the people Alexander had picked up along the way were making themselves at home.

But Alex was blindly more interested in one person in particular. As he made his way up the spiral stairs to what was apparently the library, Alex didn't actually expect the social outcast mage to be present there, but he was pleasantly surprised. Dorian Pavus, Tevinter Altus and Mage, was casually perusing a bookshelf and looking to all the world as if he belonged right there.

It didn't take as long as Alex had expected for Dorian to be accepted. At least by most. Without really meaning to show any kind of favouritism, Alex had definitely enjoyed conscripting Dorian into every mission or quest he undertook. And Dorian never seemed to complain. In fact, Alex was rather sure the older man liked the adventure, the action, and after traveling through time with the man Alex had grown rather fond of Dorian.

He still liked the way Dorian walked like he was strutting, no matter how many whispers followed him, or how many people gave him nasty stares. They'd dwindled down by now, but they were still clear enough to be daunting. Alex liked how Dorian dressed well, was hygienic, and generally intelligent and charming. He was also outrageously sarcastic, dropping into fits of humour that either had Alex completely confused or laughing heartily. Dorian wasn't afraid to be blunt or be himself, which was something Alex had struggled with for years.

Alex was a gentler soul, unwilling to anger or annoy, maybe a little naive at times. But he was headstrong, fun-loving, and positive. Dorian's allure for Alex was, at least in part, due to their opposite natures.

And that must have been what it was like for Dorian, as the two men regularly flirted with each other since the beginning. Alexander hadn't really been sure of...where Dorian stood when they met, but he was getting enough encouragement to start forming a little crush. An obsessive little thing in his mind that made him obliviously seek out Dorian or bring him up in conversation. Alex didn't exactly have a lot of past romances to reference from, and Dorian struck Alex as someone who had gotten around. It made Alex's little interest in the man all the more electrifying, even though he was completely hopeless with relationships, and even though they were playing with fire.

Alex stood awkwardly watching Dorian flip through books. He'd take one down, put it back with a mumble of something, and search for another. He'd turn to the light every now and then for better reading, and Alex could see a little crease between his eyes. That seemed to be the sign of Dorian deep in thought, but Alex could remember seeing him look like that after Haven. When everyone thought Alex had perished. The crease hadn't been so concentrated. In fact, it had almost looked a little unhappy.

Cautiously, quietly, Alex walked forward, having little to no excuse for approaching Dorian but a pulling desire to do so. When Dorian spoke without turning around, Alex actually jumped.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" Dorian said. starting the conversation in that casual way of his, as if they were already in the middle of a chat.

Alex raised a brow. "What?"

Dorian pulled down another book and flipped through it absently. "One moment you're trying to restore order in a world gone mad...That would be enough for anyone to handle, yes...Then, out of nowhere, an archdemon appears, and kicks you in the head! 'What, you thought this would be easy?' 'No, I was just hoping you wouldn't crush our village like an ant hill.' 'Sorry about that, Archdemon's like to crush you know. It can't be helped.'" Dorian turned to find Alex's eyes narrowed but his lips smirking. "Am I speaking too quickly for you?" he joked.

Alex blinked and blushed. His pale skin was so prone to that, Dorian noticed. At least in _his_ presence.

"I was...distracted. That's all," Alex said like an admittance.

"Distracted?" Dorian almost purred. "By my wit and charm? I have plenty of both."

Alex laughed and shook his head. "So you've said. Many times." He had trouble keeping up with Dorian at the best of times, though Alex wasn't humourless or innocent when it came to witty banter. But Dorian was just so gifted with confidence. "How interesting to find someone so aware of his strengths," Alex said simply.

"I'm a man of many talents. What can I say?" Dorian shrugged.

"There's not much you _don't_ say," Alex joked, making Dorian chuckle. Maker, he liked that sound...

Dorian put the book in his hand down on a small table by the window. "So," he stated, giving Alex his full and undivided attention, "how are you handling the change? Haven to this must be quite a shift, though I imagine this is more familiar to you."

Alex looked around the little space and gave a shrug. "I suppose. Though Skyhold is actually grander than anything I've ever lived in."

Dorian laughed. "Southerners." Alex smirked but then Dorian sighed. "Haven was...I always assumed that the one behind the Venatori was a magister but this? This is something else completely."

Alex nodded. "I never imagined it could be something like this," he said. "Corypheus told me that...he'd seen the seat of the gods. And that it was empty."

Dorian pursed his lips a moment. "In Tevinter, they say the Chantry's tales of magisters starting the blight are just that; tales. But here we are. One of those very magisters...a darkspawn."

"Who does the Imperium say started the blight?" Alex wondered. They'd had many conversations about the Imperium, both good and bad, and Alex found he rather enjoyed learning about a place so awash in dark rumours.

Dorian scoffed. "You know how it is. 'Not us.' They say darkspawn were always there. Magisters and the blight aren't even related."

Alex cocked his head to the side. "Really?"

"Is that a surprise?" Dorian chuckled bitterly. "No one wants to admit they shit the bed. But if Corypheus is one of the magisters who entered the black city, and he's darkspawn, what other explanation is there?"

Alex frowned. "Why does that make you angry?"

"Because the Imperium is my home," Dorian said, and his face turned a little sad at that, as if it was something he only just remembered and it darkened his day. It was clear that he missed home, at least to some degree, but Alex sometimes had to remind himself that Dorian wasn't from around here. "I knew what I was taught couldn't be all truth," Dorian went on, "but I assumed there had to be a kernel of it. Somewhere. But no. It was us all along. We destroyed the world."

Alex immediately shook his head and took an unseen step forward. "You didn't do anything," he said sincerely. "Those men did. A thousand years ago."

"True," Dorian said with a frown. "Except that one of them is up and walking around right now. Not to mention I have idiot countrymen who would happily follow him down the path again."

Alex gave him a small, reassuring smile. "That's why you wanted to stay, isn't it," he noted. "Never mind that the south is apparently so adorable to you. But the idea that you could somehow even  _help_ in redeeming your homeland..."

Dorian sighed and shook his head, but he smiled slightly as if he knew he was caught. "No one will thank me, whatever happens. No one will thank you either. You know that, yes?"

Alex shrugged. "We don't know what will happen. Nobody does."

Dorian laughed loud, getting a few glances from other readers in the quiet space. "An optimist! Such a rare breed. I've stumbled upon a unicorn."

Alex laughed and rolled his eyes. "Is it so bad that I'm positive about our chances?"

Dorian looked at him as if he were surprised by Alex's attitude. Which wouldn't really be shocking. "It's refreshing, I'll say that much. Not many people in your shoes would be so hopeful. But all I know is this. Corypheus needs to be stopped. Men like him ruined my homeland. I won't stand by and let him ruin the world."

"Nor will I," said Alex.

Dorian gave him a wink and stepped a bit closer. He clapped a hand on Alex's shoulder and gave him a little shake. "At least you have the shoulders for this burden," he said, letting his hand slide down Alex's arm slightly as he walked away. But then he turned back. "Oh, and, congratulations on that whole leading the Inquisition thing, by the way."

Alex laughed. "Thank you?"

"Of course," Dorian said, and as he walked off towards another shelf Alex followed like a puppy.

"Were you in the courtyard?" he wondered, following behind Dorian like a pupil following their master. 

"For your little ceremony?" Dorian smirked. "No. But I did watch from here. You looked very proud. It was adorable."

Alex immediately blushed and looked away. "I don't think I was aiming for adorable."

"That's alright," Dorian said, stopping at another shelf. "You wouldn't want to be the  _all_ terrible Inquisitor now, would you?"

"I don't plan on being terrible at all," said Alex.

Dorian scoffed at him. "You're going to have to make tough calls. Some will inevitably be awful. That's just the way life likes to operate."

Alex sighed. "I'll make as many good choices as I can. That way, bad ones won't seem so tyrannical."

Dorian smiled down at him. "A plan for everything," he said, and Alex had to look away from the heat of Dorian's eyes. "Did you come up to the library for anything in particular?" Dorian asked as he let his fingers dance over the spines. "Or were you simply coming to be my personal shadow?"

Alex instinctively backed up a bit. "I...have a bit of time. I thought I'd do some light reading."

"You?" Dorian laughed. Alex gave him a glare and he cleared his throat. "Sorry. I simply mean that...well, you don't look like much of a casual reader to me."

"I don't read often, it's true," Alex admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But when I have the time, I enjoy it." Dorian smiled at him, which felt like a reward for good behaviour. Alex knew it was probably bad, but he liked to say things he knew Dorian would approve of. "Any suggestions?" Alex asked.

Dorian smirked. "I hear Varric's tales are popular. Rumour has it Cassandra is mad for them."

Alex laughed. "Cassandra? You have met her, yes?"

"I'm almost sorry to say that I have," Dorian snickered, searching the shelves again. "But in all seriousness, and with no harsh word said for Varric as a person, don't read those."

"Well. I'm sure I'll find something," Alex said with a gentle smile. 

"Mmhmm," Dorian mumbled, obviously having found something he was keen on investigating. Alex backed away from him and Dorian meandered back to a little chair by the window, distracted by his reading as opposed to Alex's latest interest. For a while, Alex walked about as if he were investigating his reading options, but all he was investigating was Dorian.

It was a little pathetic, and a little creepy. He knew that. But Dorian was so eye-grabbing! Alex could admit that maybe part of his interest came from Dorian's foreign ties, but it was mostly due to his charisma and good looks. It made Alex want to spend hours just talking to the man, just watching the way he moved and listening to the things he said. But all the while, as Alex meandered here and there, Dorian kept his eyes on his book or his attention on the library.

But.

Dorian was hyper-aware of Alex's attention. It wasn't that Dorian wasn't interested, because he was. How could he not be, with this adorable mass of muscle scuttling about him almost cautiously. Alexander's shockingly red hair and even more startlingly blue eyes were a breath-taking combo. It would make anyone look twice. Dorian just liked playing hard to get. He liked to draw things out because, to him, the freshness of a new fancy was always the best part. When the excitement faded, someone inevitably got bored, so Dorian liked to wait and play as long as he could. Regardless of his flirtatious demeanour and his obvious eagerness to fluster Alex to bits, Dorian liked to look disinterested as to not seem desperate. Or love-sick, like Alex seemed. It was cute on Alex, but Dorian felt that it would look a little sad on him. Besides, he preferred being the object of affection, and not the one in longing.

This went on for days. As Skyhold got up and running, and the Inquisition found its footing, there was nothing to jump up and do immediately. It gave everyone a bit of time to settle in, and that meant giving Alex more time to moon over Dorian. He'd run around checking in on this and that, doing little errand-like trips, and Dorian would watch with a smile. He was so determined to keep up spirits and show his face to everyone calling him a saviour. Dorian thought he probably liked the attention a bit, but it never seemed to get to his head. And, almost like clockwork, Alex would end up finding Dorian in the library in the late afternoon.

After Alex's first stalking day, Dorian decided it wouldn't be such a bad thing to give the boy some hope. So, every now and then, he'd let Alex catch his eye or Dorian would casually sit near him at a table. He found he liked talking to Alex. Behind that mask of warrior brashness, Alex was sweet and intelligent. He had a very open mind for coming from such a religious family, and his wide blue eyes took in every word Dorian said. Watching Alex run around Skyhold was still amusing, but also eye-opening. Dorian thought of Alex as adorable for the most part, but he had a military strength about him that put Dorian's doubts at ease. If he'd though Alex was naive and inexperienced...It didn't take long for Alex to prove him wrong.

And soon, sadly soon, they were both fawning over each other. Dorian's playful indifference fell away with remarkable speed, and he found himself just as eager to see Alex as Alex was to see him. Though he liked to show it in more casual ways. Dorian started pulling down books specifically for Alex, ones about magic or history, things Alex continued to ask Dorian about. He'd have a little pile ready for Alex as if Dorian were his tutor, and Alex would smile at him and ask him what Dorian had today. And it carried on like this, progressing each day, all the while with Dorian feigning his minor indifference.

When this little game was reaching something like a peak, Dorian started getting more forward. He'd compliment Alex more and more, watching him blush and shake his head, or desperately try and flirt back. Alex made Dorian forget what they were doing, why they were here, almost every time they spoke. All Dorian could do was look at the eager face of this young man, thrown so suddenly into a whirlwind of shit, and wonder at how he stayed so positive. They rarely ever spoke about the Inquisition or Corypheus, just like they rarely ever spoke about each other. They talked about simple things, telling stories about this and that, or sharing opinions on whatever Dorian was reading.

It was never about what  _Alex_ was reading, and soon Dorian started to notice that. Alex was a pro at sliding the conversation to favour Dorian speaking, not that Dorian complained about that, but it made him wonder if Alex actually paid attention to the books at all. While not trying to plump his pride up, Dorian started guessing that Alex spent time in the library for Dorian and Dorian alone.

And so Dorian caught Alex one day.

From his little self-claimed alcove, Dorian peered around the bookshelf to see Alex leaning on his hand at a table. A large tome was open before him, but in his hand he had a little quill. There was some parchment beside him which suggested Alex was writing notes, but Dorian felt he knew better. Alex seemed to enjoy learning, but he was definitely not a scholar, and note-taking was not his forte. As quietly as he could, Dorian walked over and hovered above the table, staring down to see endless amounts of doodles and absentminded scribbles.

Dorian slammed the book in his hands shut. "Such a dedicated researcher you are," Dorian said, making Alex jump at the first sound of his voice. He dropped the quill, blushed bright red, and leaned back in the chair with a sheepish smile. "I really doubt that particular historical text says anything about dragons," Dorian said, pointing to Alexander's doodle, "but that could just be your take on it."

Alex covered his face with his hand. "I'm just...exhausted today," he said, as if he felt guilty, as if reading was an assignment.

"Mm, today only?" Dorian said, sitting down across from him and leaning forward. "I bet if I look back at your other so-called notes, I'll find more dragons. Maybe a bear. Or perhaps a griffon?"

Alex laughed but his face was still hot. "I'm distracted today."

"Your'e always distracted in the library," Dorian noted, his words weighed down with double meaning.

And Alex caught it. He looked up at Dorian through his lashes a moment before trying to square his shoulders and pretend he wasn't embarrassed. "This probably seems juvenile to you, doesn't it," Alex mumbled. He almost seemed a little disappointed in himself, as if Dorian were about to scold him. 

Dorian chuckled. "Well you are rather juvenile, so I won't think any less of you."

With a sigh, Alex rolled his eyes. "Do you really think of me as so...young?"

"You are young."

"Not that young."

"Younger than  _me_."

Alex tilted his head. "How do you know?" he asked.

"I know."

"How?"

Dorian gave Alex a little glare, but he smirked. "You're fast today with the questions."

Alex shrugged but he looked proud. "Just trying to match the rate with which you speak. You talk too fast for me sometimes. I'm trying to practice."

Dorian laughed heartily. "Trying to weasel your way into my mind, are you?"

Alex leaned on his elbows boldly, smiling wide before the words were even out of his mouth. "Haven't I done that already?"

Dorian grinned crookedly at him with one raised brow. "I'll admit it," he said. "You're getting better. But tell me, what has you so exhausted today?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.

"Running about," Alex shrugged. "Ever since we got here it feels like I'm...I don't know, a glorified housekeeper."

Dorian snorted.

"What?" Alex smirked. "Do you like the imagery?"

He shrugged. "I could watch you roam Skyhold all day," Dorian explained. "Here and there you run, checking in on your followers."

"My followers?" Alex laughed.

"Why not?" wondered Dorian. "They need a name, do they not? You cater to them greatly it seems. Why don't they come to you? Feed you grapes, rub your shoulders?"

"Do you want to do those things?" Alex asked. "I notice you don't group yourself into my followers."

"Don't I?"

Alex shook his head. "You keep saying 'they' instead of 'us'."

Dorian let a slow smile spread over his lips. Alexander was a very talented listener. "Perhaps I meant the ones not present at this moment."

"So why aren't you feeding me grapes then?" Alex joked.

"I would maybe be inclined to rub your shoulders," Dorian shrugged casually. "But I can only imagine that it would be like rubbing rocks. I think I'll just let you keep running about, if you don't mind. It's more fun this way."

Alex shook his head. "How is it fun?"

"For me, I mean," Dorian winked. "You're rather strapping."

When Alex looked up through his lashes, usually it was due to a sheepish feeling, or a little sense of bashful pride at a compliment. Dorian felt that Alex was blind to the fact that his little glance was actually more alluring than shy. "I've noticed you're rather strapping yourself," Alex said after his usual pause. Whenever Dorian got "flirty", it took Alex a bit to catch up.

Dorian laughed. "Of course you have. That only takes eyes."

"Luckily I have those," Alex retorted quickly.

"You do!" Dorian said, leaning forward with mock surprise. But then he gave a bright eyed smirk. "A rather fetching pair. I actually don't think I've ever seen eyes so blue."

"My mother called them little crystals," Alex said, letting his eyes lock to Dorian's boldly.

Dorian smiled, still staring into Alex's eyes as if entranced. "You know what they look like to me?" he mused. "Ice. Over a frozen blue river. Maybe even with a little skiff of snow across it. Which is odd, really, because you are far too warm a person to have such icy eyes."

Alex's face went slack and he blinked those blues absently. "I...that's...a description no one has ever used before."

Dorian shrugged as if it were easy, as if it were common. As if he didn't feel a strange lump in his throat. "I'm a poet, apparently."

"I can never place the shade of yours," Alex said after a moment, almost in a whisper.

"Oh?" Dorian replied in a similar voice.

"Mm," Alex mumbled. "Sometimes they look pale brown. Sometimes, deep green. I guess...I guess that's hazel."

"You can call it what you like," Dorian purred. "Though the idea that you'll never pin it down makes me seem far more romantic, don't you think?"

Alex laughed. "I don't see you as much of the romantic type."

Dorian scoffed and leaned away. "I'm insulted," he said with mock hurt. "With my national pride and dashing mannerisms? With my flare for drama and love of reading? My mysterious attitudes and pariah social standing? I'm appalled that you don't consider me a romantic."

Alex was chuckling. "Those aren't really romantic things."

"Then you clearly don't understand romance," Dorian said.

" _I_ consider myself a romantic," Alex defended.

"No, no," Dorian countered. " _You_ , dear boy, are a  _hopeless_ romantic. There is a difference. You're dreamy eyed and idealistic, a regular sap for any of those light flowery romance tales where the brave knight always conquers in the name of his love."

Alex raised a brow. "And you've no time for any of that?"

Dorian shrugged. "It has it's place. But romance has darker flares to it too, more passion and less...fluff. Less...elegance. Sometimes, Inquisitor, romance is hard and dark and vile. Sometimes you hate it. Sometimes it scares you or confuses you. Sometimes, it's out of your hands."

"And...is that the kind of romance you like?" Alex asked, eyes wide, enthralled by the way Dorian spoke. The way he leaned back in the chair with one leg over his knee, so calm and collected.

"I think it's more of a love/hate relationship, really," Dorian said with a shrug, staring into the distance absently.

Alex leaned a little closer. "Is that the type of romance you've had then? In your past?"

After a little pause and a sigh, Dorian tilted his head and looked back at Alex almost dreamily, as if he were sadly nostalgic. "For me, there is very little fluff."

"I wonder if that's their choice or yours," Alex said.

"Whose?"

"The people you've been with," explained Alex. "I wonder if the lack of fluff, as you put it, is their choice...or yours."

Dorian stared at him for a moment, feeling a sudden stabbing sensation in his head of all the past flings he'd had. Of all the ways they'd begun and ended, and of all the ways it changed him. Moulded him. He still liked romance, but he liked the thrilling aspects of it. The newness of first starting, or the thrill of the chase, or the 'can't keep our hands of each other' stages. Alexander, Dorian imagined, was the kind of person who would gladly settle in to a domestic kind of bliss, even after the excitement faded.

That was his kind of romance. Dorian told himself over and over again that it wasn't  _his_ kind. Dorian was always exciting. He had to be.

It was the only way people liked him.

"Regardless of your philosophizing over me," Dorian said, shaking off the little cloud that hung over him, "I don't have an answer for you. I've been around enough, if that's what you mean, but romance is romance in whatever way you take it."

"Feels like you were saying the opposite," Alexander said with a confused look in his eyes. "As if you'd rather separate the two types."

"They are separate," said Dorian.

Alex pointed a finger at him. "You said romance is romance in whatever way," he pointed out. "So why can't you have the thrills and the comforts?"

Dorian's eyes went a little wider and stiller. It was like Alex had squeezed past his wall and dug into his thoughts. "Eventually the thrill ends," Dorian said stiffly. "Not many people care about the comfort once the excitement is gone."

"Comforts can be exciting," Alexander argued. "It doesn't always have to be dramatic. Or...keep the excitement alive."

Dorian laughed. "See? Such an optimist."

But Alex shook his head. "It's not just idealistic fantasy," he said. "If you really care...if it's _real_ , I don't think you have to try and stay thrilling. I think sitting together watching a sunset could be just as thrilling as...sneaking around in forbidden hallways or being caught up in romantic doubt."

Dorian gave Alex a smile, but he shook his head dismissively and picked up his book off the table. Standing, he flipped it open. "That  _is_ idealistic," he said, and with a little raised brow he gave Alex one last lingering look before turning around and heading back to his alcove...tail between his legs.


End file.
